Dispenser for ice-cream cones and the like



July 31, 1951 e. G. BUTTERMANN- 2,562,599

DISPENSER FOR ICE CREAM CONES AND THE LIKE Filed April 5, 1949 IN V EN TOR.

Patented July 31, 1951 DISPENSERFUR ICE-GREAMLCONES AND THE LIKE Garry George Buttermann, Louisville, Ky.

Application April 5, 1949, SeriaIINo; 85,596:

6 Claims. 1.

My invention relates to improvements-in dis.- pensers for. ice cream conesand the like, and has for its primary object to provide a device as char.- acterized which may be readily applied. to. the

usual carton in which the stacked cones. are

shipped to soda fountain proprietors, etc., the device functioning to facilitate the one-at-a-time withdrawal of the cones from the stack, or stacks.

Additionally, the invention contemplates a device for the purpose. specified which maybe used withor without the; cone stack-containing Shipping carton andis also usefulin reinforcing the opened end of a shipping carton whenthe latter is: inserted in a holdersuch as is frequently used at soda fountains for maintaining cone stacks in upright position with the bottommost cone available for manualwithdrawal when an order of a customeriis to be filled.

Additionally, ,it'is an object of theinventionito provide a device for facilitating the one-at-a-time dispensing of ice cream cones which device is simple. iIl'.COI1StIl1CtlOI1, inexpensive to. manufacture, highly efficient in practicaluse; and. which furthermore-enables ice. cream: cones gandthe like to be packed much tighter in carrying cartons..-

than heretofore, which means thatsmaller cartons may be used than formerly with the consequentsaving of cardboard or other carton material. And; of course, it follows fromitheforegoing that an economy inshipping space and storage space will also be. effected.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be readily understood andappreciated upon" reference to the'accompahying drawing'in connectionwith the detailed-description thereof.

It. is to .be understood that the drawing illuse trates the invention inits now preferred: form.

However, my inventive conceptis susceptible of.

other mechanical expressions. within the. spirit and'scope of "the subject matter claimed hereinafter. 1

In the drawing, wherein the samev reference characters have beenusedyto designate the same parts throughout theseveral views- .Fig. 1 is a perspective view, partly broken and partly in section, illustrating a walloricountercarried holder for the opened endofacone-carrying shipping carton,therehaving beeninserted into the end of said carton the. unit for facilitating one-at-a-time dispensing of cones from each of .thefour stacks illustrated;

Fig. 2 is a perspective-view of the carton-receiw ing cone dispenser of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the-blank fromwhich.

the. cone dispensercasing of Fig. 2 iseformed;

Fig. .4; is an end elevational view of the dispenser shown'in Fig. 2; r

Fig. 5 is avertical sectional view taken on the.

line 5--5 of Fig. 2 Fig: dis aview-similarto Fig. 5 butshowing the dispenser casing 29 inverted so as to allow ters; numeral l8 denotes the opened end ofan ice cream':cone shipping carton which, assuggested, carries fourtsta'c'ks of nested cones. 359; the closed'reduced ends 3 I ofrth'e'cones being-directeddownwardly asviewed in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 also shows the'shipping carton ll) as having itsends flaps ilia turnedibaclr. as indi'catediat Nib andthe carton' end inserted'into the open top end of a fixed tubiform holder. l2i'such as-is. disclosedin' myPatentiNo. 2,289,099,- dated July The holder l2, as shown, has its. upper end open, andreinforced by the? upper marginal beading l6. The lower end 01 the holder 12 is closed by the door l3'having the outwardly projecting marginal'portion" for engagement bythe operators hand. The door l3'is pivoted to the rear H lowerendoftheholder I2" (the'pivot'not shown) and the rear of the door beyond the pivot'has the counterweight I l secured thereto so as tonormany-maintain the door closed as shown in Fig; 1. Also carriedby the back 'of' the holder 12 is the bracket-l5 which is adaptedtobe rigidly mounted to awall or counter soas to maintain'ithe holder l2 upright as" shown in Fig. 1.

holders than that illustrated in Fig. 1? may be used; andTthe-particular holder, per se; forms no partiofthe present invention although: patent ability'is claimed for the pressing of'the'endslflc of the 'cartontabs 10a into the inner surface grooves I id and l8a of the holder which are provided'by theexterior convex ribsll and 18 as shown in Fig. 1. This action is produced by verticallyspaced ribs 26" extending" entirely around the dispenser unit 20 and which register with thegrooves Na and Ilia to force intermediateportionsofcarton l0 and tabs ma thereof" into such grooves, as is suggested in Fig. 1. Ribs 26 also serve to stiffen unit 20.

later on;

Turning now to thedispenser-unit 2!]: and re-' Other types of Further references will be had to this feature of:novelty:

ferring to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be seen that the blank of Fig. 3 provides what might be termed the side walls 22 and the front and rear walls 23, 24, respectively, the walls being in the present instance of the same width and separated from one another by fold lines 2! which define the corners of the dispenser unit 20 as indicated in Fig. 2.

The unit of Fig. 2 is formed by successively bending each of the walls 22, 23, 22, 24 outward, ninety degrees and counterclockwise; and then bending the fastening tab 25 which is carried by rear wall 24 outwardly on fold line 2m to engage the outer surface of the proximate side wall 22. Then the portion 25 is soldered, welded, or otherwise fastened to maintain the device 20 in its rectangular tubiform shape shown in Fig. 2.

Each of the front and rear Walls 23, 24 have inwardly of their upper ends, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3, a row of three downwardly directed tongues 21 which are laterally spaced from one another and adapted to be pressed inwardly, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 5. Then spaced below the row of tongues 21 are similar rows of upwardly directed tongues 28, also indicated in Fig. 5.

The opposed tongues 21, 28 of each wall 23 and 24 are adapted to overlie the ends of normally inwardly bowed thin spring plates 29 which frictionally engage the rim portions 30 of cones 3| at the widened open ends of the lowermost cones of the stacks. It is understood that plates 29 are so held by tongues 21, 28 that those portions of the plates which engage the cones may flatten out temporarily under the pressure of the withdrawal of a cone downwardly and thereafter spring back to the bowed shape shown. However, the opposite end portions of such plates 29 (and plates 31, to be described later) are not flattened so a cone in the adjacent stack is not released as the first mentioned cone is withdrawn. This action is illustrated in broken lines, Fig. 4.

The dispensing unit casing 20, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 4, is divided transversely by means of the short partition 34 (Fig. '7) which is formed by the rigidly fastened together flat units 34a. Flat units 34a have angularly directed end tabs 32 adapted to abut the inner surfaces of side walls 22, and to be secured thereto in any suitable manner as by spot welding 33.

Fig. illustrates that the cross partition 34, whose upper edge is disposed Well below the top edge of the casing unit 20, extends down only about to the plane of the middle of the casing 20.

As in the case of the front and rear walls 23, 24 of the casing 23, each flat unit 34a of the partition 34 has a top series of three outwardly inclined downwardly directed integral tabs, or cars, 35 and also an opposed bottom series of like upwardly directed tabs 36. Thus, there is a series of tabs 35, 36 at each side of the partition 34, as best shown in Fig. 5. The set of ears, or tabs. 35, 36 at each side of the partition 34 engages the ends of a normally outwardly bowed flexible spring metal sheet 31 corresponding to the springs 29 aforesaid and cooperating therewith to yieldably retain the lowermost cones in the unit 2 I].

It should be noted that by positioning the cross partitions 34 adjacent an end of the dispensing unit 20, not only may the unit be reversed in use as shown in Fig. 6, but the partition provides a convenient handle for handling the unit. Obviously, the partition 34 provides a cross brace for the unit 20 also.

The dispensing units 20 while in the carton l0 reinforce the lower end of the latter whereby a tight fit in the dispensing holder [2 is possible without crushing the cones. This is a particularly useful feature while the assembled carton l0 and unit 20 is being forced into the holder l2. As soon as a unit 20 is applied to a carton I0, which is done by applying the unit over the tapered ends of the cones while the adjacent carton end is uppermost, the carton can be inverted to the Fig. 1 position without danger of the cones falling out of the open lower end of the assembly.

Obviously, the unit 20 and holder l 2 can function without the carton Ill but for sanitary reasons it is best to use unit 20 with the carton as shown.

In use, the carton l0, dispenser unit 20 and holder [2 are assembled as in Fig. 1 with the lowermost cones 3| of each stack disposed as in Fig. 5. Thus, the lowermost cone of each stack may be withdrawn as aforesaid upon opening of door :3 and is replaced immediately as the cone next above drops down by gravity. If door 13 is removed or in doorless holders, the unit 20 may be reversed (Fig. 6) so that the lowermost cones extend below the unit 20.

As aforesaid, the action of the ribs 26 in pressing interposed portions of the carton I0 and/or Illa thereof into the grooves Ila and |8a of the holder I2 operates to maintain carton [0, dispcnser unit 20 and holder l2 assembled even when the holder is doorless. At the same time, the parts may be readily disassembled when a carton is empty and unit 20 may be reassembled with a filled carton.

While I have shown and described what is now thought to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of other forms and expressions. Consequently, I do not limit myself to the precise structure shown and described except as hereinafter claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A dispensing carton adapted to hold a vertical stack of articles to be dispensed comprising a carton of rectangular form, said carton having bottom closure flaps which are bent outwardly to .open one end of the carton and thereafter bent backwardly along and in contact with the outer sides of the carton, a carton holder of rectangular form into which the lower end of the dispensing carton is inserted and frictionally held in place within the holder, a pivoted closure on the bottom of the holder and closing the bottom opening of the carton, and a rectangular article receiver mounted in the carton and pressing the lower wall portions thereof against the corresponding walls of the carton holder to support the same in dispensing position.

2. A dispensing carton adapted to hold a vertical stack of articles to be dispensed comprising a carton of rectangular form, said carton having bottom closure flaps which are bent outwardly to open one end of the carton and thereafter bent backwardly along and in contact with the outer sides of the carton, a carton holder of rectangular form into which the lower end of the dispensing carton is inserted and frictionally held in place within the holder, a pivoted closure on the bottom of the holder and closing the bottom opening of the carton, a rectangular article receiver mounted in the carton and pressing the lower wall portions thereof against the correspending walls of the carton holder to support the same in dispensing position, the walls of the carton holder having convex ribs therein, and complementary ribs on the Wall surface of the article receiver forcing portions of the intermediate carton body into the convex rib spaces to hold the parts together.

3. A dispensing carton adapted to hold a vertical stack of articles to be dispensed, comprisin a carton of rectangular form, carton bottom closure flaps bent to open the carton and lie flush along the respective sides of the carton, a carton holder of rectangular form having spaced circumferential ribs, an article receiver of rectangular form fitting within the carton and having spaced ribs, the ribs of the article receiver forcing portions of the carton wall into the recesses formed by the ribs on the carton holder to support the carton in article-dispensing position.

4. A dispensing carton adapted to hold a vertical stack of articles to be dispensed comprising an elongated carton, a carton holder for receiving the lower portion of the carton and having a circumferentially convex rib formed in the walls thereof, an article receiver fitting within the dispensing carton and having a rib in the walls thereof complementary to the rib of the carton holder, the rib of the article receiver pressing the carton ouspensing wall into the convex portion of the rib on the carton holder to hold th parts together.

5. A dispensing carton adapted to hold a vertical stack of articles to be dispensed comprising an elongated carton having lower end closure flaps, a carton holder for receiving the lower portion of the carton and having laterally directed projections along the walls thereof, an article receiver fitting within the carton and having complementary projections in the walls thereof deforming the walls of the carton laterally whereby to provide means for irictionally maintaining the assembly together.

6. A dispensing carton adapted to hold a vertical stack of articles to be dispensed comprising an elongated carton, a carton holder having laterally spaced projections therearound, and an article receiver fitting within the dispensing carton and having laterally spaced projections complementary to the carton holder projections, said projections laterally deforming the walls of the dispensing carton to frictionally hold the assembly together.

GARRY GEORGE BUTTERMANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,256,913 Luellen Feb. 19, 1918 2,339,383 Davidson Jan. 18, 1944 

